2021 Radius X Blown Fuse

[cruzenmike]

Hello all.

Just took out my brand new Radius X 52" for the first time and 15 minutes into mowing it DIED.

I removed the harness from the cover just under the battery and found the 15 amp fuse blown. There was no moisture or corrosion present, as there shouldn't be since it is brand new and never even wet or exposed to any elements.

I called my local dealer (that I didn't buy it from) and they said that I should just replace the fuse and forget it ever happened. Of course if it blows again I should load it on the trailer and bring it in. The guy did have me check for pinched wires but I could not find any.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Do as the dealer suggested
Fuses can blow because they were bad from the factory
Check for the obvious. alternator wires not plugged in tight , loose battery cables at either end of both cables.

 

[cruzenmike]

Do as the dealer suggested
Fuses can blow because they were bad from the factory
Check for the obvious. alternator wires not plugged in tight , loose battery cables at either end of both cables.

I only ended up cutting by back yard this evening when all of this happened but tomorrow before I get out to do the front yard, I will check everything over.

I guess that I never really thought of a fuse being bad as I have only ever experienced them going after significant use. I do know that the battery was replaced before I picked the machine up. The machine was new, but it was last years model. The battery likely went bad while the machine sat over last winter. I noticed that they sprayed some battery terminal protector on both the positive and neutral. I will likely just remove everything, wire brush it all really good and tighten it down as good as I can.

It's just always a bad feeling when something like this happens on such a new machine. I have put hundreds of hours on my mowers over the last 6 years without ever having something like this happen. Hopefully this is just some weird "fluke."

Thanks for the advise!

 

[cruzenmike]

Well, I dropped the Radius off at the dealership this morning to have them fix whatever is wrong with it. I ended up going through another 4 fuses before I was able to get it loaded onto my trailer.

Here is what happened today:

The first replacement fuse that I installed last night was able to get me another 20 minutes of mowing before the machine completely shut down again. I had removed the original (blown) fuse and put in this one with hopes that the issue would resolve itself. Now with two blown fuses you could say that the fuse itself is not to blame for the malfuction.

The second replacement fuse blew almost immediately after I re-engaged the PTO. I was starting to think that maybe the issue was related to the PTO switch or the PTO clutch, but then:

The third replacement fuse blew as soon as I put it into the harness.

The fourth replacement fuse blew when I was driving the machine. At this point I had almost made it back to my driveway.

My fifth and last replacement fuse blew when I turned the ignition key to the on position. With no more replacement fuses I was in trouble because I couldn't drive the machine onto my trailer. I ended up having to position my four wheeler in front my trailer with it angled off of the hitch so that I could winch the mower up and onto the trailer. Without my four wheeler I would not have been able to get it on there!

The dealer suspects that there is a wire somewhere that the casing has rubbed off and is shorting out on the frame or maybe even against another wire. There is always the possibility that a wire has been stretched or bent in such as way that it is shorting out inside the casing as well. Thankfully the fuse is doing what it should be and simply blowing instead of causing a fire. Reference was made to repairing the wire once they locate which one has an issue. My guess would be either taping or splicing in a new wire. I would feel much better if they replaced the entire wire harness, but if I had to wager, that is not something that the dealer would do from the get-go.

Since they are closed on Sunday and Monday they expect to get to it first thing Tuesday morning. Thankfully they place warranty work before all other repairs and at this time mine is the only machine in for warranty. My hope is to have it back sometime next week with a darn good explanation as to what went wrong and a repair that is suitable for preventing re-occurrence.

 

[sgkent]

be sure they show you the repair so you can assess whether you feel it is to the manufactures standards. Most mechanics are miserable when it comes to electrical problems, and even more so these days with the complexity of the electronics. You got 20 minutes on the first fuse. Let's pretend that it is a wire touching something. You trailer it and bounce all the way to the dealer, they put in a new fuse and the wire isn't touching anymore so it doesn't blow. Mechanic makes up a story to make you feel good, "we replaced the fuse and found a loose wire." You take it home, it bounces on the trailer, shorts again and five minutes later you are blowing fuses again. So, before you leave the dealer, which wire was it, which module was it, show me. Prove you actually found something and aren't guessing. Be nice but make 100% sure that they found the real problem.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Yep sounds like a loose or chaffed wire to me
You get different vibrations with the blades running than you do blades off.
So some times while turning on the blades makes a short happen , the short may not actually be in the PTO system.

 

[cruzenmike]

Well,

I got a call from the Dealership this morning and expected them to have an answer as to what was causing my Exmark to keep blowing the main fuse. Instead, I got "tell me what I gotta do to get this to blow a fuse." The Service Advisor sounded very frustrated, as I could tell from the tone of his voice, and then went on to explain to me that his Technician has 2.5 hours of labor wrapped up in "this" and nobody is going to pay for that. I went on to explain to him about how I drove 9.5 hours round trip to buy this rather expensive mower and how after only 20 minutes of use and blowing through 6 main fuses, I clearly had no choice but to bring it in. I certainly have better things to do with my time and for heavens sake, why would I make this up?!

The Service Advisor went on to explain in further detail what exactly I was doing when the fuses blew. Obviously I have stated this earlier in the post, but it would seem that there are multiple factors at play, but at the very least, the PTO or ignition switch might be a key culprit. He did states that there was one thing that they did not try so he was going to pass all of the information along to the Technician to see if anything I said gave him an idea of where to look next.

That was about half way through the day and by day's end I had not heard anything more. This situation is becoming more frustrating by the minute. I completely understand that electrical problems can be difficult to diagnose, but I do not see taking this machine back without having an repairs done. I would have to start video recording every use to capture proof of what is happened. I guess the pile of blown fuses that I left on their counter when I dropped it off as well as the conversation with the Service Advisor the night before where he advised that I replace the fuse and "forget it ever happened." I actually got a video of it dying on my home camera system, but unfortunately the audio was not recording and I coincidentally stopped after it shut down to observe a stranger driving down my private drive.

Let's hope that I find something else out tomorrow.

 

[bertsmobile1]

It happens to all of us
I have run multiple tanks of fuel through a mower and not had a second of problem then the owner takes it back and the problem reappears.
I have even gone to the customers house to watch them .
It is very frustrating, particularly for a dealer in a workshop where all they can do is sit the mower in the corner or drive in endless circles around the flat level car park

 

[cruzenmike]

I called up to the dealer today and the Service Advisor said that he reached out to Exmark Corporate this morning because they were still scratching their heads as to what was going on with my machine. Exmark's Technical Support Team advised that they replace the electric PTO clutch. The Service Advisor stated that it was their (Exmark's) best guess as to what could be causing the problem. It would seem that the majority of the issues somehow involved the PTO, whether I was in the middle of mowing, or when the PTO switch was engaged or disengaged. I am somewhat hopeful that this is the solution. While he said that an internal failure of the electric PTO clutch is rather uncommon, it's not out of the realm is possibility. Thankfully this is a part that is currently in stock so I should have the machine back later this week.

 

[cruzenmike]

Good news to report...

I picked up my mower yesterday and was able to cut my entire lawn without a single fuse blowing. While there is still some "mystery" as to how and why I was experiencing this failure, it was still nice of Exmark to go out on a limb and replace the most expensive part in the PTO system/circuit in an attempt to fix the problem. With almost an hour of run time and no issues thus far, I am hopeful that they made they right call on this.